The Kings could do nothing. Over half a decade of preparation, all to receive absolutely nothing in the end. No matter how refined or "Kingly" they tried to be, no human in existence could take this sort of matter lying down without throwing a rampage.
However, the matter was kept under wraps. There was no way the Kings could allow it to become public knowledge that they had been humiliated in such a way.
In the end, they concluded that they had simply misjudged the Immortal who started all of this. Clearly, even someone of his caliber couldn't ignore the wealth of an entire Sect and ended up making a move in the end. In fact, they even believed he felt embarrassed to the point he gave the Natural Order Sect disciples a proper burial.
If curses could kill, that Immortal, even with his depth of cultivation, would have long since died. The public would never believe that their Kings could curse so profoundly unless they spent the last few days with them. It was truly a sight to behold.
Like this, the Kingdoms fell into relative silence. Talks of the Coronation Games continued in full force for the first few weeks, but soon, even that calmed considerably. However, it was during this time that undercurrents began to brew… And the first sign was a secret meeting King Opes called with the Lantes and Viri Kingdoms.
"King Opes, you claimed to call us here for a matter related to the secrets of our Kingdoms' founding, but why is it that King Tor isn't here? What are you planning?" King Viri's eyes narrowed.
After receiving King Opes' messages, the two of them had rushed here. The secrets pertaining to the underground White Devil Cult murals was one only Kings and former Kings knew of. It was also a secret they were bound from speaking of to anyone but their Crown Princes. Not even their other heirs had the right to know.
So, one can imagine that if such a matter was used to call upon them as Kings, there was no doubt that they would heed it with the utmost haste. Yet, they had arrived here only to find out that one of them was missing. If King Opes really called them here for this matter, King Tor would definitely have been here as well. Since he wasn't, that only meant one thing: a conspiracy was brewing!
Seeing that King Lantes was just as displeased as King Viri, King Opes could only shake his head. These two had been in terrible moods ever since their Crown Princes had been crippled. These moods were only made worse after they received nothing for their troubles. Even with all their resources, it would be at least a half decade before Atticus and Silas could live a semblance of a normal life.
"Look past your anger for a moment. Since I've called you here, there's obviously a purpose. And since I've excluded one of us, that purpose is incredibly important."
The two Kings frowned, but waited patiently for the answer they sought.
"We've been cheated." King Opes finally said.
"What do you mean by that?" King Lantes probed. He already had a faint idea. In fact, not just him, but, in all likelihood, King Viri was skeptical as well. Since they were Kings, how could they be stupid? Too many things about these events didn't add up. And it all seemed to revolve around Ryu.
"I'm sure since I'm aware of it, you two are aware of it as well, correct? What happened almost four years ago just a few days before Tor Kingdom was shrouded in black clouds?"
King Lantes and Viri looked at each other before nodding. Silas and Atticus had no reason to keep it from their fathers. They had heard rumors that the Fourth Prince was being ostracized by the Tor Clan, but they didn't learn to what extent until the events of that night. They had been absolutely shocked by the matter.
"I wonder, how much of it do you two believe?"
"The reports were very clear. Even without the testimony of our sons, it was obvious that King Tor was trying to separate himself from his fourth son, even allowing him to be beat in public. Plus, after seeing his hair and eyes, isn't it obvious why that was?" King Viri offered.
"I'm not saying that King Tor didn't initially hate his fourth son's existence initially. What I'm wondering is if he still does."
"Stop speaking in riddles. We're all intelligent men here, just get to the point." King Lantes said impatiently.
"What I'm saying is that … Isn't it too convenient that it was the very day the First Prince invited your sons over to speak of an alliance that these matters occurred to the Tor Clan's Fourth Prince? Or, I guess, Crown Prince, now?
"And, don't you find it odd that the Tor Clan would allow your sons to be witness to such a thing? Even if they hated Crown Prince Tor to the core, they surely wouldn't want to give you an opportunity to use that against them, no? Imagine the devastation just a few rumors could cause.
"The three of us know that if Crown Prince Tor really wasn't King Tor's son, that he would have had both Third Concubine Leilani and him killed silently. The fact they survived to this day means that King Tor had already properly verified the matter. However, would the general public think so far?"
King Lantes and Viri's eyes narrowed.
"King Tor might have hated Crown Prince Tor after his birth because his appearance would cause unrest, but what if he suddenly found out that the benefits his fourth son brought him far outweighed the negatives? You two saw it all for yourselves, Crown Prince Tor is a talent words can't even describe. With King Tor's insight and his comprehension of talent as one himself, would he miss such a thing?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'll get to the point then, gentlemen. I believe that King Tor, utilizing his son's talents, staged this entire mess. With Crown Prince Tor as bait, he lured an Immortal to take him as a disciple, and in exchange, he received the Natural Order Sect's resources for himself."
King Lantes and Viri weren't as shocked as one might expect, having reached the logical conclusion.
"This is all just your speculation, where is the proof."
King Opes smiled. With a thought, a very familiar Visual Jade appeared in his hand. Soon, it began to replay flickering images of Ryu's battle with the Fire Tiger. Suddenly, the image paused between flickers to show a young man with white billowing hair, holding a black bow they recognized all too well!